In performing the boarding procedure of an airplane at a reception counter in an airport, a boarding ticket on which a seat number and the like are printed is issued. As the boarding ticket, media with two types of boarding ticket length are usually circulated. Specifically, there are a boarding ticket with 8 in. (20.32 cm) length (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a first boarding ticket length) and a boarding ticket with 7+/8 in. (18.73 cm) length (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a second boarding ticket length). In the respective airlines, whether a boarding ticket with the first boarding ticket length or a boarding ticket with the second boarding ticket length is used is determined in advance.
Here, in a printer apparatus installed on a common counter jointly used by a plurality of airlines, every time a person in charge uses the counter, the person starts with setting a brought-in own airline's medium to the printer apparatus and keeping the printer apparatus in a printable state.
Because a boarding ticket medium has a long shape including a plurality of unprinted boarding tickets continuous in a longitudinal direction, the printer apparatus needs to recognize the boarding ticket length of the set medium when the medium is set to the printer apparatus.
Therefore, a high-functional printer apparatus has a function to measure, when a medium is set, the boarding ticket length while conveying the set medium forward (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-128309). Once the boarding ticket length is measured, the printer apparatus brings the medium back to a print start position of the first boarding ticket, sets a printing condition for the measured boarding ticket length, and enters a print-standby state. Such a printer apparatus becomes costly because it has a function to switchably convey a medium forward or backward.
In contrast, a printer apparatus has been developed which attempts to achieve a reduction in cost with limited features. Even such a printer apparatus is naturally able to handle a boarding ticket medium with the first boarding ticket length and a boarding ticket medium with the second boarding ticket length.
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view illustrating the configuration example of an existing printer apparatus, and FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating the operational flow of the existing printer apparatus until it is set to the print-standby state. FIGS. 8A to 8D illustrate the operation of the existing printer apparatus until it is set to the print-standby state, where FIG. 8A illustrates a state where a medium is set, FIG. 8B illustrates a state where the second boarding ticket is set at a cueing position, FIG. 8C illustrates a state where the length of the second boarding ticket is measured, and FIG. 8D illustrates the print-standby state.
A printer apparatus 100 includes, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a print head 102 above a conveyance path on which a medium 101 is conveyed, and a platen roller 103 at a position facing the print head 102 across the conveyance path. The printer apparatus 100 also includes a sensor 104 close to the upstream side of the print head 102 and platen roller 103 on the conveyance path. The printer apparatus 100 further includes, although not illustrated, a data receiving unit configured to receive data to be printed by the print head 102 and a control unit configured to control the print head 102, platen roller 103, and sensor 104.
The print head 102 prints, when print data has been sent from a host apparatus (host computer) connected to the printer apparatus 100, the print data onto a boarding ticket. The platen roller 103 supports the boarding ticket from the back side thereof when the print head 102 performs printing, and also feeds (conveys only in one direction) the boarding ticket by a printing pressure that is applied to the print head 102 toward the platen roller 103. The sensor 104 detects a cue mark that is formed at a joint between the adjacent boarding tickets on the medium 101.
Next, the operation until the printer apparatus 100 is set to the print-standby state is described. The control of this operation is performed by a non-illustrated control unit. First, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the medium 101 is set to the printer apparatus 100 (step S101). Because the printer apparatus 100 includes only the platen roller 103 as the conveyance unit of the medium 101, the upper part including the print head 102 is opened to expose the platen roller 103 and the medium 101 is set so as to be placed on the platen roller 103. Subsequently, once the upper part of the printer apparatus 100 is closed, a state is set where the first boarding ticket of the medium 101 is placed on the platen roller 103, as illustrated in FIG. 8A.
Next, the platen roller 103 is driven to rotate counterclockwise and conveyance of the medium 101 is started in an ejection direction (toward the left of the view) (step S102), and then the cue mark of the medium 101 is detected by the sensor 104 while the medium 101 is being conveyed (step S103). Once the cue mark is detected as illustrated in FIG. 8B, the sensor 104 starts measuring the length of the second boarding ticket of the medium 101 (step S104).
In this case, while the medium 101 is being conveyed, the cue mark of the medium 101 is also detected by the sensor 104 (step S105). Once the cue mark is detected as illustrated in FIG. 8C, the medium 101 is conveyed by a predetermined distance in the ejection direction, and the second boarding ticket not separated from the first boarding ticket is ejected, and then the third boarding ticket is set at a cueing position. At this point, the measurement of the boarding ticket length of the medium 101 is completed (step S106). Thus, the printer apparatus 100 is ready to start printing from the third boarding ticket set at the cueing position, using the measured boarding ticket length as the printing condition and transitions to the print-standby state. In this print-standby state, as illustrated in FIG. 8D, the already fed and ejected first and second boarding tickets are discarded. Thus, the printer apparatus 100 sets the printing condition to the measured boarding ticket length, and enters the print-standby state. Subsequently, when print data is sent from the host apparatus, the printer apparatus 100 prints the received print data onto the boarding ticket under the set printing condition.
In the existing printer apparatus whose features are limited so as to allow one-way-only conveyance, after a medium is set, the first boarding ticket is conveyed to the ejection position in order to set the second boarding ticket at a cueing position, then the boarding ticket length is measured using the second boarding ticket, and subsequently, the third boarding ticket is set to the print-standby state. Therefore, there is a problem that after the medium is set to the printer apparatus, before the printer apparatus is set to the print-standby state, two boarding tickets are always discarded.